Navy support ship €100m over budget

Thursday 05 November 2009

A new supply ship being built for the navy is to cost the defence ministry €98.5m more than its €265m budget agreed in 2005, junior defence minister Jack de Vries has told MPs.

A correction for inflation has added €46m to the bill, while tougher environmental standards are costing an extra €25m to implement, De Vries said.

The ship is due to be delivered in 2014 and go into service in 2015, replacing the supply ship HMS Zuiderkruis, which has been in operation for 38 years.

Christian Democrat MP Rendert Algra told the Financieele Dagblad he was concerned about the €46m inflation increase. 'I have to ask if this is correct. Steel became more expensive but has since gone down in price again,' he said.

If the minister cannot justify the increase, the CDA wants to him to renegotiate the contracts, the paper says.

MPs are due to debate spending on defence ministry equipment next Monday.

© DutchNews.nl

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